Reservoir of Power Ch. 08-09

Ursula was in the grip of hybrid madness. She neither knew her own name, nor her humanity any longer. Her life was in that hive, and she needed it badly for some reason. She didn't know why, but she knew that she'd rather die than be turned away from her goal. Bending down, she tore the pack's prize drum from its mounts and she charged toward Lucky.

Lucky stood his ground, his weapon aloft, when Ursula threw the cage at his knees. The hundred year old drum exploded as it struck solidly and crumpled around Lucky's knees. Charging forward, she grabbed one of the oak tables and prepared to brain him with it.

Surprised that his enraged enemy had been canny enough to choose an attack that would restrict his movement, Lucky dropped his impromptu weapon and worked to free himself from the remains of the tattered cage. Ursula began using the table as a maul, raining down earth-shattering blows on his head and shoulders.

Oak is a hard wood, but compared to a werebear's bones, it was about as strong as balsa wood. Ursula's blows were thunderous, and while her strikes cut Lucky's flesh to the bone in several places, they did little more than to bruise his skull and anger him further. Blood and spittle flew with the impact from every blow and a trail of ichor flew from the edges of her weapon each time the table came whistling down again, but the blows barely budged the increasingly angry bear, and something had to give.

It was the dowels that attached the table top to its central support. On her fifth blow, the dowels failed, causing the table top to splinter off and carom over the bar, shattering the hand painted mirror that Tom had commissioned back in 1843. The reclining nude figure painted upon it had been a John Vanderlyn original, and as it was a piece unknown to the arts community, it had been, quite literally, priceless.

As the mirror shattered, Lucky finally finished peeling the remainder of the cage from his lower legs and was able to raise his arms to shield his head from further damage. Lena continued to swing the 4"x4" a few more times, but it was clear that she was not hurting the beast that stood between her and the honey that she longed to reach. Disgustedly, she threw the wood at her nemesis, but once again, he merely brushed the weapon aside.

Lucky then thrust his arms behind him, and with his torso leaning forward, he unleashed a fearsome roar, challenging this lesser animal that had somehow wounded him. Astonishingly, the other beast didn't shrink from his call of dominance. Instead, she threw her arms back and returned the roaring challenge of the angered bear.

No bear in any of his previous lifetimes had ever met one of his challenges before, but he didn't wait to allow her the opportunity to retreat, he barreled forward and crashed into this impertinent beast. If she wouldn't back down, he'd just kill her and be done with it. Furious, and currently in his battle-form, it didn't occur to him that he'd never known about these past lives until now.

Both beasts began fiercely ripping and slashing at one another, and as they battled, blood was splattered on all fours walls, with some ribbons even reaching the ceiling. At times, the bears grappled with one another, rolling over and destroying most of the furniture in the clubhouse. Tables were smashed into splinters and glass had exploded everywhere, creating a swamp of gore and alcohol that covered most of the floor as the battle raged on, neither monster giving an inch.

Outside, the Alpha was directing his pack to block the doorways with whatever came to hand. Fallen trees, large boulders, and even automobiles were being piled in front of the four doors into the Shunkaha. The previous Alpha, John Billington, had never considered that his clubhouse would ever be used to contain anything. At best, he'd thought that the thick concrete walls could be used as cover in an exchange of missile fire. Containing two warring behemoths just hadn't been in the original plans, and William now doubted that anything would work to save the pack from what was inside.

One particularly loud crash rumbled from inside the building and as the very walls shook, William saw that large cracks had appeared in one wall and a shower of cement rained down upon his men. He shouted above the din, "What the Hell was that; did a bomb just explode in there?"

Ja-mul didn't say a word; he knew that when things eventually calmed down, he was going to be in some hot water over this fiasco. Florence spared her grandfather a quick glance as if to say, 'you'd better be right about this', and this worried the old coyote. Flo was the one person on Earth who trusted him unreservedly, and if she had her doubts, he just might be in for some trouble.

"Alpha, the non-combatants are safely to the compound and everyone is ready to evacuate upon your command."

"Thanks, Tom. Keep them ready." William sent in return.

Then Will turned a sent a personal message to his mate, "Dammit, Sam's unconscious and I had to send Tom to keep the women safe. I'm down my two best men and we're in deep shit."

"Tristan is here; he's your number one Beta."

"You know that's only because he's a more powerful fighter than the other two. We won't get any ideas out of him. He'll follow whatever orders that we give him, but he damned sure won't think outside of the box."

Florence unobtrusively nodded in Ja-mul's direction.

"Yes love, I know. He'll do enough unconventional thinking for all of us, but for once, I'm wondering if he's bitten off more than we can handle." William sent in response.

"Ask him for advice; let him know that you're worried, besides...this is his disaster!"

William growled to himself, but he took his mate's advice, he usually did.

"Grandfather," William started slowly, "this looks really bad. There's no way that we can contain whatever is in there if it decides that it wants out. The concrete is already crumbling; there is no way that those cheap doors and our barricades will stop him if he decides that he wants out of there. I'm sure that we are faster than a bear, so we are not really at risk from him, but we can't protect the humans from one of those things."

"Two," Ja-mul admitted with a worried frown.

"What? Everyone kept saying that a human couldn't become a bear."

"They can't, but she wasn't exactly human was she?"

Florence broke in, "So what is she grandfather? Surely you can tell us now. It's too late to stop whatever is happening and we are only trying to save the innocent now."

"I would tell you if I knew for sure, but the best that I can do is guess."

"So... guess, Dammit!"

"I suspect that Lena was born bear, and had already chosen to live as a human by the time that Lochlainn met her. If this is so, then she wouldn't remember ever being a bear. It also might explain her size and speed."

"But I thought that bears were fixed into a single world once they've made their selection."

"Granddaughter, you were born a wolf. It took the act of a Goddess to cause your change to Were and put you in my grandson's path."

"You think that she's the same?"

"It's only a guess, but yes."

William pondered his grandfather's words for a moment and then asked, "But why did you bring them here? They've clearly destroyed everything in the Shunkaha, and most of the things in there are... or were irreplaceable. The pack is not going to be happy about this!"

"Can you imagine a safer place than in there... surrounded by the Billington warriors? Should we have allowed this to happen in Kalispell among the humans? At least here, we can contain the damage and minimize the losses. If this would have happened in Kalispell, dozens would have died and the human military would have been summoned."

"You know that beer recipe that you promised the idiot brothers? It better be damned good!"

Back inside, the battle raged on. Lucky was larger and Ursula, more fiercely driven. Both were covered in gashes, torn flesh and rivers of blood. All of the furniture in the clubhouse had been destroyed, the bar itself crushed, and oddly enough, the only two objects in the entire room that were still largely undamaged were the bee hive and the internet juke box-- the two easiest things for the pack to replace.

Lucky had just thrown Ursula across the bar room and into the wall in the entryway, destroying the last of the peg board in the process. He now held his ground in-between where Ursula was crawling back to her feet, and the hive which was immediately behind him. She'd almost gotten to it that time; indeed, a single claw had passed through the exterior of the outermost honey comb, and she noticed that there was a single drop of honey on that claw.

Rather than charging her enemy again, she held the claw to her nose and scented deeply. The smell washed over her, bringing her the memory of warm summer days and plenty. She touched the golden sugary bead to her tongue and allowed it to melt there. Its rich taste washed over her taste buds and as it hit her, her eyes rolled back into her head, and just for an instant, she forgot that she was in the middle of a battle for her life. Is that music?

It only lasted a second, but for that second, her pleasure was all encompassing, but then the sensation was gone as quickly as it had arrived. It was just a brief lull of lucidity in her storm of her anger, but it lasted just long enough for Lochlainn to catch a whiff of something, something that piqued his interest. What the Hell is that? It smells like... But then it was gone.

It was enough to break the cycle of his anger however, and with this break, some of his humanity had returned. There was enough for him to risk a life-changing bet. He shifted back into his bear form and studied the she-bear's eyes to see what her next move would signal. Had he made a mistake?

Ursula was far from sane at that moment, but her animal side urged her to consider that the male's bear form was much less lethal than his hybrid. The resulting decision was not one that she made consciously, but Lucky's de-escalation of aggression had driven her to make the same choice. She found herself back in her bear form, still on alert and still glaring at the animated wall of flesh that was preventing her from getting to her honey. Something in his stance calmed her though; she couldn't have explained this logically.

There it was again... that scent, he thought, but now it was stronger than ever. It must be coming from her. Why does she smell so delicious? Maybe I should taste her.

Claws down, he ambled toward the she bear, approaching slowly, still gauging her intent. When he saw that she remained on four paws and did not stand and prepare to fight, he instinctually moved into her body, rubbing his head on her neck and nuzzling her. Their blood ran together, intermixing, as it slowly congealed upon their fur.

Ursula, who'd been so intent on reaching the honey at the risk of her own life, suddenly was overcome with a different desire. Something smelled a lot better than the honey ever had. This glorious male had an intoxicating scent. How could she not be receptive to his affections? Clearly, he was an eminently suitable male. She began to nuzzle him as he had done with her. They were sensing the same smell in the air. It was late in the year for mating, but somehow they knew that there was still time for them.

They began licking the blood from one another's coats, the red trails running together on their tongues. Both were healing at a visible rate. Ursula's estrus was calling her to the honey within Lucky's body, and this reaction was accelerating their healing abilities. Their wounds were sealing and new hair was growing again in the patches where it had been torn out by the roots.

They licked and nuzzled with one another for some time as their ardor increased, Lucky making his way down her neck and along her flanks, and beyond. All the while, her wonderful odor was getting stronger, more intoxicating, as he approached her center.

He began to lick her rear legs, searching for the evidence that she was ready for him that was trailing down the inside of her legs. This wetness acted as a drug upon him and he took his time to get every drop, slowly working his way in deeper into her folds, striving to get to her core. Searching for the well of his drug, his sensitive nose found it at last, and he thrust his long tongue into her. She quivered as the rough texture of his tongue triggered a mild orgasm within her body.

His movements did not remain languid for long, for this was mating season and their first time would be quick. Their instinct saw to that, but there'd be plenty of time as bears would mate many times over the following days. After Lucky had drunk every drop of her natural nectar, he climbed forward to mount her. He could see that she was ready for him; she had accepted his suit.

He stood above her, her shorter front legs placed her in the perfect position to receive him as he worked his way into her. The two of them began bucking wildly, randomly changing forms as they rutted. First bear, then human, then bear, then human again; they thrust against one another for only minutes before they erupted together.

Upon coming down from their precipice, they found that they were now human once again, and that they remained connected following their first climax. Lucky remained hard, never becoming completely flaccid, and it was not long before they were rubbing against one another again. It was as if both of them were trying to put out a fire with gasoline, the frenzy they were experiencing was doing little to satisfy their lust for one another. It kept rising, burning ever hotter as they continued to climb to the heights of ecstasy again.

Steadily roaring, Lochlainn continued to bury himself within Lena, but he was now counterpointing his strokes by giving her open-handed slaps upon her ass as he thrust into her. In his human form, his claws were gone and now he only left large red handprints on her pale skin, and she squirmed and screamed with each stroke, whether it came from his hand or from his cock instead. He rode her hard, his next approach to orgasm wonderfully delayed by their earlier coupling.

Lena's hair was flowing over her arms that she had crossed upon the floor in an attempt to brace herself against his steady assault. Her head was being driven into her arms as she screamed out in pleasure. Stroke after stroke, they plunged together as she'd given up all pretense of control.

Lochlainn's eyes flickered open and he saw that Lena's hair was in danger of trailing into the bloody swamp on the floor of the bar room. He grabbed her hair attempting to save it, only to hear a gasp of surprise and increased arousal from the Nordic beauty trapped below him. He read her gasp as the encouragement that it was and he grabbed her hair roughly, pulling her head back to his chest as he continued to ride her as if both their lives depended upon it.

Lena was about to lose her mind; she couldn't hold on any longer and she screamed out in orgasm as her Viking took her. The howl came from her center and it grew from there. Her shriek causing the very walls to shake around them.

"What the fuck was that?" William said, thinking that he knew the answer.

"I am sure that you know what that was... my husband," Florence said with a smirk.

"That..." said Ja-mul slowly, "that was our deliverance, grandson."

"Keep talking old man," replied Alpha William, hoping that he was hearing a tone of optimism in his grandfather's voice.

"It sounds like she's accepted him, and him, her. I doubt if we'll see them for a few days now. Bears will mate for several days and it would do little good to try to communicate with them for awhile. You would only increase their aggression again, but it'd be much worse this time. This time, they'd attack us together."

"Grandfather, so what do we do now?"

"I'd suggest that we... quietly... open one of those doors and place a bunch of bedding and food in there. Then seal them in again. Make this easy on them; you've met them. I guarantee you that their human sides will be embarrassed when they finally climb out of there. Supply them these things now, and they'll see that we supported them during their bout of irrationality. They'll know that we are family, even if it is partially because that we want to contain the danger that they represent to us."

William knew a good idea when he heard it, and he immediately sent orders for mattresses, blankets, and food, lots of food, to Tom. Then, he turned his attention to his warriors, and gave them orders to unblock the main door, and to do their work as quietly as if they were mice. They were to stand ready to reseal at a moment's notice.

The supplies were carefully delivered, and placed within the building. As always, the pack obeyed William's orders to the letter and soon the jobs were done. Shunkaha had been sealed again.

When the work was finally done, Florence looked into her mate's eyes and shared, "I'm betting that wasn't exactly the romantic setting that they'd been dreaming of."

William raised his eyebrow and drily responded, "My darling, if I remember correctly, you cuffed me to a tree."

Florence colored a bit before she replied, "No my love, that isn't true! I asked you to cuff yourself, and you agreed to do it without any prompting."

"You were naked, and I trusted you," he said.

"...and she him," Florence responded with a loving smile. Then she asked, "So what do we do now?"

"Well," William drawled, his wily tongue doing his best to seduce her, "I was thinking that I'd assign Tristan to keep an eye on the building for the next couple of days while we head home to see if I can force you to make those same sounds."

"I can see why you are the Alpha," giggled Florence as she cuddled into him.

Ja-mul rolled his eyes, but he was secretly happy that his grandchildren were such a loving pair.

It was hours later when Lochlainn finally passed out from exhaustion and sank into the bedding that the pack had so thoughtfully provided, but that's when Lena found her opening. She rolled away from her unconscious lover and walked directly to the hive. Seeing that the bees were still agitated, even now in the process of attempting to re-seal their hive, she realized that her human form would be at risk from their stings and she shifted back to her ursine self without conscious thought.

She thrust her head into the center of the hive no less aggressively than Lucky had those many hours before. She ate ravenously, replenishing the calories that her furious rutting had expended. She ate her fill, and as the golden food was slowly absorbing into her body, she returned to Lochlainn and fell asleep with her head propped lovingly on his chest and honey pooling from her maw.

The lights inside of her eyelids slowly flickered and then dimmed as her body passed into sleep and released her soul to walk the vision trail. As she passed through the in-between place, lights crackled repeatedly, with sparks slowly falling to her feet. Inaudible music played within her spirit, leaving her with the impression of drums and woodwinds... and then she popped through the gate and into the snow.

Her journey through the snow was much like the one that Lochlainn had endured. To her, it seemed as though days passed as she ambled along. She continually walked toward the various sounds that she heard until she eventually came to a cave containing a hot spring. Without considering the risks, she immersed herself into the warming waters and as her head slowly sank under the water, a woman's voice came to her.